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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
April 20, 2010, at 9:30 A.M. CDT
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
NOTE: If you wish to join this meeting by conference call, please contact the Commission at 605-773-3201 by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Monday April 19, 2010. Lines are limited and are given out on a first come, first served basis, subject to possible reassignment to accommodate persons who must appear in a proceeding. Ultimately, if you wish to participate in the Commission Meeting and a line is not available you may have to appear in person.
NOTE: To listen to the Commission Meeting live please go to the PUC's Web site www.puc.sd.gov and click on the LIVE link on the home page. The Commission requests that persons who will only be listening to proceedings and not actively appearing in a case listen via the web cast to free phone lines for those who have to appear. The Commission meetings are archived on the PUC's Web site under the Commission Actions tab and then click on the LISTEN link on the page.
NOTE: Notice is further given to persons with disabilities that this Commission meeting is being held in a physically accessible place. If you have special needs, please notify the Commission and we will make all necessary arrangements.
AGENDA OF COMMISSION MEETING
Consumer Reports
- Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries and Complaints Received by the Commission. (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)
Administration
- Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on March 23, 2010 and April 6, 2010. (Staff: Demaris Axthelm)
At the July 8, 2008, Commission Meeting, Staff received approval to participate in a collaborative review of Qwest's Performance Assurance Plan. Eleven of the fourteen ROC member states participated and entered into a contract with Liberty Consulting. The review has been completed with the final report submitted on June 20, 2009.
TODAY, shall the Commission close the docket? How shall the Commission proceed regarding the final report?
Pipeline Safety
On March 23, 2010, the Commission received a request for a waiver of 49 C.F.R. Section 192.285(a)(2) and 192.285(c) from Montana Dakota Utilities Co.. (MDU). MDU makes the request according to SDCL 49-34B-24 to allow it to re-qualify its employees by an alternate means of assuring qualifications for persons making joints. On March 29, 2010, staff recommended approval with conditions. On April 6, 2010, MDU filed an amended Request for Waiver as filed with the Commission.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant the waiver request?
Rule Making
On April 6, 2010, Commission Staff requested the Commission open a rulemaking docket to examine the customer billing rules in ARSD Chapter 20:10:17 and to consider amendments to said rules.
TODAY, shall the Commission open a rulemaking docket?
Telecommunications
On November 25, 2008, OrbitCom filed a complaint seeking recovery on an account because of the failure of Verizon to pay OrbitCom the amounts invoiced pursuant to its state tariff for the provisioning of telephone access services. On June 1, 2009, the parties filed a proposed procedural schedule. On October 8, 2009, the Commission issued its Order for and Notice of Hearing, and on October 22, 2009, the hearing was held as scheduled. On November 11, 2009, OrbitCom filed a letter advising the Commission of the briefing schedule stipulated by the parties. On December 4, 2009, initial post-hearing briefs were filed by Verizon and OrbitCom. On January 8 and January 11, 2010, reply briefs were filed by Verizon and OrbitCom, respectively. On February 4, 2010, the Commission received Verizon's Motion to Strike, or in the Alternative, a Motion for Leave to File Sur-Reply Brief. On February 16, 2010, the Commission received OrbitCom's Response to Verizon's Motion. On February 18, 2010, the Commission heard the Motion to Strike, or in the Alternative, for Leave to File Sur-Reply Brief, and denied Verizon's Motion to Strike and granted its alternative Motion for Leave to File Sur-Reply Brief. On February 22, 2010, the Commission received Verizon's Sur-Reply Brief. On February 23, 2010, the Commission heard oral argument from the parties and voted to take the matter under advisement to further consider the issues in light of the oral arguments. On April 8, 2010, a Stipulation for Dismissal was filed with the Commission.
TODAY, shall the Commission dismiss and close the docket?
On June 16, 2009, Black Hills Communications, LLC (Black Hills) filed an application for a certificate of authority to provide local exchange services in Qwest Exchanges within the Blacks Hills in western South Dakota by utilizing a combination of unbundled network elements and resold services obtained from other local exchange carriers pursuant to interconnection and or commercial agreements.
TODAY, shall the Commission dismiss and close this docket?
On January 5, 2010, Chairman Johnson requested the Commission to open a docket, pursuant to SDCL 49-31-4.1, to consider whether pricing regulation is appropriate for switched access services provided by competitive local exchange companies. SDCL 49-31-4.1 provides that if an investigation conducted by the Commission "indicates that pricing regulation is appropriate for any noncompetitive service because such regulation has a positive impact on universal service and is more reasonable and fair than rate of return regulation, the commission may adopt pricing regulation for any such noncompetitive service." The Commission unanimously voted to open the docket. Any interested person may file a petition to intervene on or before February 8, 2010. Parties shall file initial testimony on or before March 9, 2010. Reply testimony shall be filed on or before March 30, 2010. The hearing date shall be set in a subsequent order. On February 5, 2010, a Petition to Intervene of Verizon and Midcontinent Communications was filed and Northern Valley Communications filed a Petition for Leave to Intervene. On February 8, 2010, a Petition to Intervene of AT & T, SSTELECOM Inc, Sancom, Inc, SDTA, Sprint, R C Communications, Inc, and Midstate Telecom, Inc was filed. Qwest filed a Petition for Leave to Intervene on February 8, 2010. At its February 23, 2010, the Commission granted intervention to all parties. On March 16, 2010, the Commission issued its Order for and Notice of Procedural Schedule and Hearing. On April 12, 2010, the Commission received Qwest's Motion to Adopt Price Regulation of Switched Access Services for CLECs to Suspend Deadline for Reply Testimony and Define Further Proceedings.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant Qwest's motion? And how shall the Commission proceed?
On March 26, 2010, the Commission received an application from South Dakota Network, LLC (SDN) for a certificate of authority to provide local exchange service in Qwest Corporation service areas in South Dakota. SDN seeks authority to provide local exchange voice services to business customers through voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) or through use of unbundled network elements or resale of voice service provided by Qwest.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant the Certificate of Authority?
Items for Commission Discussion
Announcements
1. Commissioner Dusty Johnson will hold an informal question and answer session about the Black Hills Power rate case process, April 14, 2010, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., MDT, at the Colonial House Restaurant in Rapid City, S.D.
2. Commissioners and staff will participate in an Anybody Can Serve, So Let's Conserve 30-60-90 Day Challenge energy-efficiency work project on April 16, 2010, at the home of Kevin and Kelly Nelson, Brookings, S.D.
3. Commissioners and staff will participate in a conference call with representatives of Otter Tail Power Company to discuss MISO transmission cost allocation, April 16, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. CDT.
4. Commissioners and staff will attend the MidAmerican Energy Company Annual Hedge Plan Update, April 20, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. CDT, in Room 413 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D.
5. Commissioners will attend the NorthWestern Energy Community Leaders Meeting held April 22 at NorthWestern Energy's Operations Center in Huron, S.D.
6. Commissioner Steve Kolbeck will hold an informal question and answer session about the Black Hills Power rate case process, April 23, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to noon, MDT, at the Dunn Brothers Coffee shop in Rapid City, S.D.
7. Commissioners will attend the Renewables on Tribal Homelands Conference held April 28-30, 2010, at the Rosebud Casino Complex.
8. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be held May 4, 2010, at 9:30 a.m., CDT, in Room 413 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D.
9. Commission meetings are scheduled for May 18 and June 1, 2010.
10. A hearing in Docket TC10-014 will be held May 19-20, 2010, in Room 414 of the State Capitol Building, 500 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, S.D. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m., CDT, May 19, 2010.
/S/ Cindy Kemnitz .
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
puc@state.sd.us
April 13, 2010
